Having spent days helping a friend in flood-ravaged Houston, the owner of a Guelph landscaping and property management business says he would do it again in a heartbeat.
Bill Hamilton, owner of Turf Plus, Inc., recalls a conversation he had with his friend Pat Quirk, who was worried about his sister in Houston and asked to borrow a trailer to head to Houston
“He said she had been stuck on her second floor for a bit and he was pretty worried. He said he was going down to see if he could give her some help,” said Hamilton.
“He needed a trailer and I had one. I said I would come down and give him a hand,” he added.
They found an 8-wheeled Argo amphibious all-terrain vehicle to bring to the Lone Star State.
The pair left Guelph on the evening of Aug. 28 to begin the approximately 24-hour drive to Houston, parts of which were under feet of water after the recent Hurricane Harvey.
“Getting down there was a little tricky because there was a curfew and roads closed. It was Wednesday morning before we got to the area they needed help,” said Hamilton.
With the help of the Argo, the pair began helping people who were still stuck in their homes.
“It got us into the area right to the door. It worked well,” said Hamilton of the Argo.
The next day the pair began helping Quirk's sister Maureen recover items from her house.
“We got as much of the valuables out as we could, the stuff she didn’t want to lose,” said Hamilton.
Recently, Hamilton added a laser-engraver to his business and before leaving Guelph he laser-engraved a ‘Houston Strong’ logo from metal.
He gave it to Maureen as a gift when he was in Houston.
Hamilton, who had never seen a flood in person before, said the devastation was unbelievable.
“It’s like picking up your house and dropping it in a six-foot deep lake, and the water is nasty,” he said.
The pair returned to Guelph Saturday afternoon.
Hamilton said he had the tools and, if given the chance to help his friend, would do it again in a heartbeat.
“I hadn’t had my vacation time yet, so I thought I would head down and give him a hand. He was worried,” said Hamilton.
